Turning Dreams Into Reality
by Jon Harder
May 4, 2011
For a lot of people that follow shows that happen around the ACE Arena, you've heard about a lot them. However, for this column, I'm not only going to discuss another company that is involved with the ACE Arena, but is actually co-owned by Mike Morgan himself. Even more so, it carries the spirit and hard work of a bunch of overachievers who definitely have earned a lot of people's respect in the industry thus far. They are the little engine that could. They are Middle Village Wrestling.
MvW is a culmination of a lot of different people coming together and working together to make a dream a reality. Even before they became a full-fledged independent promotion, three men had the simple dream to one day run their own company. Arty "RT" Bucco and a pair of brothers, Tony Fatu and Patty Greatness, aspired to one day have their own company as kids. Over the next several years, they bided their time and started to get the proper knowhow on the wrestling business. In fact, Tony was trained by ECW original and former ROH Tag Team champion Devito. Through Devito, Tony made friends with several of his students, who would ultimately become the backbone and foundation of what MvW is today, like Bobby Sapphire, "Heavenly" Hatch Stevens, the Phantom Ghost, and Bill Carr. After that, Fatu and those men started wrestling in the local upstate New York independents. These men were so passionate about the business that they all together actually built a ring and started doing extra training besides their normal activities inside the squared circle. Arty, at that point, started to train alongside Fatu and all at once, everything started to click. However, it wasn't until 2003, where the promotion came together. 2003 was when Middle Village Wrestling officially formed.
From that point on, the dream became a reality for Arty and the brothers. Patty Greatness was the owner of MvW and both Tony Fatu and Arty were wrestlers, amongst others, for it. Having shows in upstate New York, MvW started to gain a cult following as a company that had loads of untapped potential. Over the next several years, more and more wrestlers started to come in and provide the backbone of the MvW roster, such as Chris Cayden, Chris Raze, and Ashley LaCroix. Combined with their training and in ring experience they were gaining all along the upstate New York scene, the MvW roster was truly beginning to gel and gain notoriety. Then, the MvW made a joint decision. They wanted to expand. They wanted to venture out of upstate. They wanted to make some noise. They decided to take a HUGE step and start at the state-of-the-art ACE Arena.
In 2009, MvW started to run in Union City, NJ at the ACE Arena. Over the next several shows there, MvW started to really win over the Jersey fans with, again, their loads of untapped potential. Not only did they win the fans over, they also won over Mike Morgan, the owner of the ACE Arena and American Championship Entertainment. One show in particular really stood out to Morgan. Every November, MvW dedicates their November Reign show to the memory of one of their fallen friends, Mikey G. After watching the performances that each and every member of the MvW roster gave to the memory of their comrade, the ACE owner, after a unique power struggle for several months involving a wealth of people, bought 50% of MvW from RT Bucco and now resides as co-owner alongside Greatness. Although there is a bit of a power struggle with MvW between ACE competitors and the MvW loyalists, Middle Village Wrestling has never stood taller and never looked more respected and formidable. The passion from each and every one of those men and women in that locker room overflows and you can see that in the ring.
Furthermore, a lot of the MvW stars have made a splash on the independent scene. Chris Raze is being mentored by "the Demonic Destruction Device" Crowbar, a man with a lot of worldwide experience. MvW champion Tony Fatu has made a splash in ACE, showing his full hatred for everyone and everything wrestling related. Chris Cayden is not only showing off his wrestling talents all over the Northeast, he is also a very accomplished REFEREE as well. And unbelievably, MvW has produced a WWE developmental talent! Bill Carr, who made a name for himself in FCW as Bobby Dutch, was signed due to his efforts in MvW. Middle Village Wrestling's competitors have definitely made a name for themselves from their hard work inside of the MvW ring.
From a pipe dream that 3 men aspired to one day achieve, to gaining a cult following in upstate New York, to being the "sister" fed to American Championship Entertainment, Middle Village Wrestling is a company in which its competitors stand tall and show its dedication to see MvW survive. I'm proud to say that, as a MvW commentator, that I am really looking forward to the future that MvW is setting up for us independent wrestling fans.
For more information on MvW, please check out http://www.mvwwrestling.com
Jon Harder
jonharder@aceprowrestling.com